Cat Videos Go Hollywood

“The Friskies” awards ceremony for top cat videos honors imagination and gives back to the cats that give us so much amusement.

The Oscars of cat videos yesterday honored creativity, originality and the spirit of cats. “The Friskies” presented awards in six categories, including the $15,000 grand prize “Best Video” for Oskar the Blind Cat, at a Los Angeles ceremony.

Will Braden, the human behind Henri, Le Chat Noir’s videos on the banality of existence, received a special category “Catuette.” He said he was honored to be the “youngest person ever to receive The Friskies’ Lifetime Achievement Award.”

For each contest entry received, Friskies donated five cans of cat food to a shelter, which came to a total of 250,000 cans of cat food for pets in need. Representatives were in attendance from two of the participating 25 cat charity organizations that will receive the Friskies donations.

Oskar the Blind Cat won for the video “Oskar’s First Toy.” Oskar’s owners have advocated adoptions for blind cats and others on their blog and Facebook page.

Michael Buckley hosted the event, which is available to view in its entirety here. John Fulton, host of “Must Love Cats,” sang two original songs, including one about how “The internet was made for the kitties, and I’ve got no problem with that.”

Entertainment during the hour-long ceremony included an a cappella group that meowed highlights from the opera “Carmen” and a live action tribute to Nyan Cat, featuring an interpretive dancer in a rainbow-winged Pop-Tart costume performing to a violin solo of the Nyan Cat theme with a gentle, melodic interlude.